The Recovering Procrastinator - Tip for Getting it Done

Hi. My name is Joyce, and I'm a procrastinator. I started procrastinating at a very young age. So young, in fact, that I can't remember when I first procrastinated. I can't prove it, but I'd be willing to bet one pay check that the first time I procrastinated was when I given my first homework assignment in first grade.

Lately I've been developing some techniques that I think will help me kick procrastination. After all, I'm writing this article - an article which I outlined six months ago. I'd like to share an idea with you, my fellow procrastinators, and hope that my idea will help you as well.

TO LIST OR NOT TO LIST

Many people from psychologists to self-help gurus to celebrities even go on and on about the benefits of making lists. They tell procrastinators to make a list of all the things they want to accomplish. I started thinking that if I could just some how master the art of list making I could kick procrastination out the window once and for all. I've practiced making all kinds of lists - the "to do" list, the "grocery" list, the "honey do" list, and any other list I could think of. It is quite the accomplishment, I brag, that I consider myself to be a master list maker. My lists are thorough, exact, and written with perfect penmanship. You'd be hard pressed to find a single item not included on one of my lists. Now if only I could master the art of going back over the lists I painstakingly mastered to accomplish the listed tasks.

Lists can be useful tools in the right hands. Yet, for some of us hardcore procrastinators, they can also enable us to procrastinate even more. For instance, I often spend long periods of time constructing a list only to look at the finished product and think to myself, "Wow! How am I ever going to get all of that done?" Overwhelmed, I set the list aside. I tell myself that I will come back to it later. "Later" is the same as "tomorrow" - it never comes for the procrastinator.

Let's take a look at some of the reasons we find the idea of lists appealing:

1. When times are hectic, a list can be just the thing we need to remind us of something important that we could, should, or need to do. (More about could, should, or need to do in a later installment.)

2. When getting ready to take a trip, a list can help remind us of all of the things we want to take with us or of the things we need to get done before we leave.

3. Lists are neat and orderly, therefore, esthetically pleasing.

4. Constructing a list can actually make us feel as if we are accomplishing something.

5. Insert your own reason here: ____________________________________

When Times are Hectic?

How do you know when the time is right to construct a list? If you can spend more time thinking about and constructing a "to-do" list than you spend actually working on the tasks listed, then times are not hectic. Scrap the list; it's actually holding you back by enabling you to continue procrastinating.

When Getting Ready to Take a Trip?

For this situation, making a list is a good idea. There's almost nothing worse then arriving at a tropical destination without our bathing suits.

Lists Are Esthetically Pleasing?

This one you might just have to just "get over." Calendars, ledger paper, and the latest bulleted memo you received from your boss are also neat and orderly, therefore, esthetically pleasing. But, you wouldn't spend hours staring at them...would you?

Lists Give Us a Sense of Accomplishment?

They can, and do, give us a sense of accomplishment, but it's false.

Consider constructing an "accomplishments" list. Keep a blank piece of paper and pen handy (or a notebook if you prefer) to write down each task you accomplish. If a task is weighing on your mind, get it done then write it down. For instance, the three household chores that I abhor above all others are washing the dishes, scooping the cat boxes (multiple cats, multiple boxes), and folding laundry. These tasks are unpleasant; they can be stinky even, they are important and cannot be avoided for long. One day, instead of commiserating over them as I painstakingly wrote them out on a "to-do" list in my perfect penmanship, I started writing them down when I accomplished each one of them. I immediately felt a sense of pride. Soon I started feeling good about getting things done. I began to look for things I could do, so that I had more to write down on my "accomplishments" list. The more tasks I wrote down, the better I felt, the more I wanted to do.

Now you try it. It certainly couldn't hurt. Drop me a comment letting me know how it's working for you, and in the mean time, I'll be working on the next tip for The Recovering Procrastinator.